Pair tell of Lima gang's drug drop

A police officer walks past the National Police anti-drug headquarters where Michaella McCollum Connolly and Melissa Reid are being held (AP)

Two young women being held on suspicion of trying to smuggle £1.5 million of cocaine out of Peru told of how they were forced to take the drugs during a secret meeting.

Michaella McCollum Connolly, 20, from Northern Ireland, and Melissa Reid, 19, a Scot, were arrested while trying to board a flight from the Peruvian capital to Spain last week.

The women claim they are victims of a violent drugs gang who coerced them into carrying the drugs, and say they have resigned themselves to the likelihood that they face a lengthy prison term.

Police are waiting for a translator before officially questioning them, which is expected to happen in the next few days, the Associated Press said.

Ms Reid and Ms McCollum Connolly said they were given the 24lb (11kg) of cocaine outside their hotel, the Hotel Colonial San Agustin in the capital Lima, the day before were due to fly back to Spain, the Daily Mail said.

Speaking from inside police headquarters in Lima, Ms Reid told the newspaper: "I was the one who went to pick up the drugs outside our hotel. At that point I didn't know what was in the suitcase, drugs, guns or money, and we were like, 'we're not going to do it'. But they said, 'We've been watching you and you've got to do it'."

The pair, who deny drug trafficking allegations, claim they were ordered at gunpoint by Colombian gangsters to smuggle the drugs out of Lima.

Ms McCollum Connolly told the Mail: "I didn't realise drugs were so big here but it happens all the time. The police have said they see girls like us all the time. We've resigned ourselves to the fact that we're not going home soon and are doing jail time here."

Ms Reid told The Sun that her life had been turned upside down by the events and that she longed to be home.

She said: "If I could turn back time I think I'd put a gun to my head and get it all over with quickly. I'd love to be able to get home as soon as possible, but I know that's not going to happen. I understand that even if we help police, we're going to prison for a long time."